


The Hunt

by Lady_RhaeSnow18



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drama, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Issues, Friendship, Harry Potter - Freeform, Harry Potter Next Generation, Humor, Major Original Character(s), Next-Gen, Original Character-centric, Plot Twists, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 05:45:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13583514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_RhaeSnow18/pseuds/Lady_RhaeSnow18
Summary: “Fine! I accept you bloody challenge!” she growled. It seemed rather unfair that Lily would use that as her leverage… when did sweet little Lily get so… deceptive?“Excellent!” Lily grinned rubbing her hands together. “In honour of the Head Girl’s first ever Hunt, we challenge you Rose Weasley to commandeer… something Slytherin.” Lily said deliberately slow.“Name your treasure then,” Rose sighed not believing she actually got talked into doing this. “The common room is full of things. What do you want me to get –”“Scorpius Malfoy,” Lily said evenly. “We challenge you to commandeer Scorpius Malfoy.”“What?!” Rose asked aghast.





	1. The calm before the storm

 

* * *

_The calm before the storm_

* * *

 

Monday morning – The Great Hall

“Oh god Lily if you could swoon anymore I'm sure you’d fall of your seat.” Rose said looking at her cousin in amusement.

Lily sighed dramatically and drew her eyes away from across the hall to look at Rose. “It’s not my fault he’s so bloody gorgeous.” She mumbled. Rose could only roll her eyes at her cousin’s antics. “Oh, don’t act like you don’t agree!” Lily said with a sneaky smile. “Besides it’s not like there’s much to look at here.” She continued motioning to the Gryffindor table. Looking up and down the table she frowned. All the boys in her house were either taken or too intimidated that she was Albus Potter’s sister. Yep nothing to see here, she thought, and so her eyes went back to a particular sleepy looking blonde.

“She’s right you know,” came a soft voice beside her. Lucy fluttered down on the bench, “Even you can’t deny his gorgeous… they all are.” Lucy giggled when Rose shot her a scowl.

Rose groaned and followed Lily’s eyes to the Slytherin table to see Demetrius Malfoy sipping leisurely on his coffee as he listened to Charlie Zabini rattle of beside him. He looked up for the briefest of seconds catching their gaze and gave them a sweet smile. Lily blushed and smiled back nervously. He looked to Rose and she saw the briefest of that famous smirk on his face before a tall figure clapped him on the shoulder before sitting down beside him.

Rose inwardly groaned as she watched the second familiar blonde sit beside Demitri. They spoke brief words before she found grey eyes looking back at her with interest. His gaze was confident, unlike Rose who suddenly felt a bit flustered having both Malfoy boys looking at her. She couldn’t deny Lucy was right, both Malfoys were gorgeous and it didn’t hurt that both had an exceptionally charming personality. It was only when she saw the tiny hint of a smirk on Scorpius’ face that she scowled and looked away.

Lucy looked at her triumphantly, knowing she was right. “Don’t’,” Rose warned her stopping whatever ill – conceived thought crossed her mind, “Just don’t.”

Lily wasn’t about to let up that easily though, “Oh come on Rosie! Admit it.”

Sighing in defeat and seeing no other way for her cousins to change the topic, “Fine! They’re bloody gorgeous! Happy now?” she grumbled.

Who’s gorgeous?” Dominique Weasley asked joining the girls at the Gryffindor table.

“The Malfoys” Lily said with a small smirk.

“Oh, so you’ve finally admitted to that have you Rosie?” Dominique asked with an equally discomforting smile.

“Stop calling me Rosie and I only said it because they wouldn’t shut up about it. Now can we stop talking about this already?” She said ignoring Dominique’s comment.

“Fine, let’s talk about the Hunt this year,” Lucy said with great eagerness.

“No Luce!” Lily quickly objected. “Rose is Head Girl now. She can’t know all our secrets.” Lily teased.

Lucy looked aghast at the idea of Rose turning against them, “You wouldn’t… would you?” she asked sceptically.

“Well technically the Head Girl and Boy have been given permission to stop this ridiculous Hunt you lot are so insistent on.” Rose explained. Lucy looked rather upset, “But if I don’t know anything then I can’t stop it now, can I?” Rose added with a small smile. They all laughed before Rose gathered her things and left the Great Hall. She rounded the corner rather quickly and collided with a solid figure, before her ass hit the floor.

“Ow!” she cried from where she sprawled out on the floor.

“Crap! Rose, sorry I didn’t see you!” Albus said reaching down and helping her off the floor. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah I'm fine.” She said dusting her skirt and then looking at her cousin. Albus Potter looked more like his father than James did with the untidy black hair and green eyes. Albus seemed to be scanning the corridor looking for someone. “Who are you looking for?”

“Louis!” he said anxiously, “You haven’t seen him, have you?” he asked as an after thought. Rose shook her head. “Dammit! We need to discuss this year’s Hunt and I personally think that –”

Rose clamped a hand over his mouth to stop him from talking. “I can’t know this Albus. Plausible deniability and all that crap.” She reminded him.

He looked at her with wide eyes for a moment and then just nodded. Rose took her hand away, “You know having both you and Scor as Head’s is rather inconvenient.”

She laughed, “I'm so sorry to hear that,” She joked. “Try the Great Hall. You know Louis is always late to breakfast.” She called over her shoulder as she walked away.

Rose headed to the Head’s dormitory to retrieve her things. Thinking back to The Hunt that seemed to get all her cousins hyped up. It was ridiculous really but she couldn’t deny the fun in it. The Hunt was something that Teddy Lupin had started during his time at Hogwarts. Each year a group of students from each house would get together and comprise a list of items. This was then given to the mysterious Gamemaker’s who would approve it. Then they would have the list distributed out to all houses, discreetly of course. They would have a week to collect all the treasures and bring them to some location within the castle. It was no easy feat and it seemed over the years, the Hunt had become a very serious matter for most of the students.

The teachers didn’t approve naturally. Not when the previous lists hand included things like a toilet seat from Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom, the chandelier from the Great Hall, the Sorting Hat and twelve Cornish pixies. As the years went by the list had gotten more extreme and eventually the Head’s were urged to stop it in any manner. But a Hunt had never been stopped and it seemed even more unlikely this year. With Scorpius as Head Boy and Rose as Head Girl and considering that virtually all her cousins were so eager for it, she didn’t have the heart to stop it. Scorpius Malfoy seemed more disappointed that he couldn’t join in this year.

Once Rose had deposited her unnecessary books in her room, she headed back down for double potions. She opened her book to a rather fascinating potion on aura’s when suddenly she collided – again – with something solid. Expecting for the second time that morning to land on her ass, she was very surprised when the fall did not come. Instead strong arms quickly caught her and she was pulled against a firm chest. Looking up she saw grey eyes, and suddenly Rose was feeling a little breathless and it had nothing to do with almost falling.

“Are you okay Red?” he asked softly. Had Rose been of coherent thought she would have scowled at the use of his nickname for her. But she wasn’t, all she could manage was a nod.

Dammit to hell! She thought. What was with this boy and his touch? This was not the first time his touch had left her feeling slightly scrambled. She had thought that by now it wouldn’t have affected her so much, but she was wrong. As always when it came to Scorpius Malfoy she never knew what to expect. It had started in third year when Albus had begged that she try and get along with Scorpius. It wasn’t too long after that that Rose found Scorpius wasn’t such bad company. In fact, he was rather funny and she couldn’t figure out why it had taken her so long to realise that. After all he was best friends with Albus Potter.

Their dynamic had changed slightly this year. She had felt it and so had Scorpius. First it had been a mere brush of the hands when they worked together in potions, then the patrols started and Rose found herself craving those few hours with him. As the term eased on, they became more comfortable around each other – reaching far beyond the boundaries of ‘friends’. His touches became more frequent and every time Rose was left wanting a little more. It frightened her and she did the only thing she could think of. She distanced herself from Scorpius Malfoy and his alluring charm. It had been going well… up until she ran into him. Literally.

Now she was in the one place she had tried to avoid. In his arms, stuck flat against his chest as his arms were sliding down to hold her even tighter than before. Rose tried to move out but Scorpius was having none of that as he just readjusted her and held her firmly again.

“Have you been avoiding me Red?” Scorpius asked curiously.

Rose scowled, “Don’t be ridiculous Blondie,” she said avoiding his gaze. “Why would I avoid you?”

“You tell me,” he said softly and then brought his hand up to move a piece of her fiery hair away from her face.

“Like I said you’re being ridiculous,” she muttered unconvincingly.

“And if I don’t believe you?” he whispered softly moving so his nose gently brushed hers.

“I would say that sounds like a you problem,” she said sounding a little more like herself. Rose felt his chest rumble as Scorpius laughed and instinctively her hand gripped the front of his robes.

He didn’t say anything else but simply smiled. Not a smirk but a true and proper smile. The ones she had only ever seen on him when he spoke about his family or when it was just the two of them. He closed what little space was between them and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

“See you in potions Red,” he said in her ear before letting her go. Rose watched as he climbed the stairs and disappeared into his room.

Damnit! Rose thought trying to calm her frantic heart. This was the very thing she had tried to avoid. But there was something so mysteriously alluring about Scorpius Malfoy that Rose couldn’t help but be drawn in. Taking deep breaths, she set her feet in motion and made her way to potions. Rose was going to need all her wits if she was going to survive double potions with Scorpius.

**}{}{}{}{}{**

Scorpius Malfoy cursed himself as he shut the door behind him. He had been doing so well. Trying to get Rose Weasley out of his head had proved a truly difficult challenge, and he had done so well. Well almost anyway. Demitri had set it all in motion again this morning. There was no doubt in his mind that Demitri knew exactly what he was doing when he mentioned Rose at breakfast. His little brother was a sneaky devil no doubt about that.

Scorpius wasn’t sure how it happened, or when but all at once it was like Rose Weasley was all he could think about. Soon he had craved every prefect meeting, every patrol and every damned potion’s lesson. Spending time with her was becoming second nature to him and then it stopped. Two weeks ago, they had almost kissed before she panicked and flew from the room and had been promptly avoiding him ever since.

Until this morning; when he had caught her looking over at the Slytherin table. And if Merlin wasn’t cruel enough, Scorpius had found himself in a more torturous position. Rose Weasley in his arms was all he had thought about in the past two weeks. And rather unexpectedly that was exactly where she had landed.

But Scorpius knew that he would have to tread carefully. She was talking to him again, that that was some progress. He grabbed his potions book and headed back down only to see Demitri sitting on the couch.

“Shouldn’t you be heading to class?” Scorpius asked his little brother.

“Shouldn’t you be chasing after Rose Weasley.” he shot back with a cheeky smile. Demitri was a sixth year and while having a rather pleasant disposition and being sorted into Slytherin, meddling in his brothers’ lives was a favourite past time of his.

Scorpius swatted his brother upside the head, “I think if I chase after her, she’s only going to run further.” He said after a moment.

“Well you better not wait too long. I head McLaggen is looking for a date to Hogsmeade this weekend.” Demitri informed him.

Scorpius scowled for a moment then looked at his brother carefully. “Who told you this?” he asked curiously.

“Well Mia heard Henry McLaggen asking Louis if Rose had a date for this weekend.” Demitri said recalling what the Hufflepuff had heard.

“Okay… but how did you find out if it was Mia who heard about it?” Scorpius asked still confused.

“Mia told Roxanne who told Dominique. Georgie overheard them and told Charlie who told me.” Demitri sighed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Scorpius looked slightly horrified at his brother’s explanation. “Aren’t you the gossiping little witch?” He commented after a moment.

Demitri wasn’t bothered in the least bit by his brother’s comment. “Aunt Daphne would be proud.”  
“That’s never a good thing.” Scorpius groaned. “Come on get out, I actually have a class to get too.”

“Double potions with Miss Rose Weasley. Do enjoy dear brother.” Demitri teased as he walked out the heads common room after his brother.

Scorpius only smiled. Yes, he was going to enjoy this very much.

**}{}{}{}{}{**

He was late and that was never a good thing. McGonagall was going to kill him. His footsteps echoed in the deserted corridors before he came to a screeching halt as entered the classroom as quietly as he could.

Fuck! It was just his luck that all the seats at the back would be occupied. There was no way he could sneak in now.

“Aah Mr. Malfoy so kind of you to join us at last.” Professor McGonagall said causing the entire class to turn and look at Demitri.

“Sorry Professor,” he said smiling, picking up his charm.

“Such tardiness won’t be tolerated Mr. Malfoy.” She said exasperatedly and then pointed to a seat near the front and continued with her lesson.

Demitri released a breath at having escaped at losing house points or a possible detention. He moved quickly to the seat he had been allocated before McGonagall could change her mind, and slid into his seat.

As he looked to the figure sitting beside him, it really shouldn’t have surprised him who McGonagall had seated him next too. It really was just his luck. Lily Potter looked up, gave him a small smile and then went back to taking notes. It didn’t seem like anything special but for some reason Demitri couldn’t focus for the rest of the lesson. Instead his eyes flickered between Lily and the board as he absent-mindedly took down the notes.

Lily, much like her brother Albus, resembled more of her father than her mother. She had long black hair rather than the famous Weasley red, and green eyes like her brother and father. While Demitri was very familiar with Albus, what with him being best friends with Scorpius, Lily Potter was something new to him. It probably had something to do with the fact that Albus was extremely protective of her and even though he was not in Gryffindor, he was doing a fine job of keeping all the boys away from his little sister. In fact, it was probably because he was in Slytherin that made him all that more frightening. Even Demitri had to admit, Scorpius and Albus were a formidable force to be reckoned with. So respectfully Demitri had kept his distance. How much longer he would be able to do that, he wondered.

Eventually the lesson came to close but not before McGonagall assigned them two rolls of parchment on metamorphmagus transformations and its dangers. As the rest of the class tumbled out moaning about the homework, Demitri frowned at the prospect of the essay.

“You alright Malfoy?” a gentle voice called from beside him.

“Hhhm? Came his unintelligible reply until he realised who he was talking too. “Yeah I'm great.”

Lily smiled, “You sure? You look a little… frazzled.” She said and Demitri heard the tease in her voice.

“You’re forgetting I'm a Malfoy. We don’t get frazzled.” He said shooting her his dazzling smile.

“Well you must be the first then,” she shot back, not falling for his charm that easily as she walked ahead of him disappearing into the crowd of students. She might think him gorgeous but it was best he didn’t know that…yet.

Demitri stared after her in wonderment. He had a feeling things were going to get very interesting.

**}{}{}{}{}{**

Scorpius had arrived shortly after Rose and taken his allocated seat beside Albus. Albus looked to be frantically scribbling something on a piece of parchment, but the minute Scorpius stepped into his sight, he chucked the parchment and quill hastily into his bag.

Scorpius raised an eyebrow intrigued, “Do I even want to know?”

“Oh yes,” Albus said with a big smile but then it faltered a moment later, “No... no you really don’t want to know.”

“Why not?” Scorpius asked now deeply interested.

“Plausible deniability and all that crap as Rose says,” Albus said looking slightly guilty.

Scorpius sighed and only nodded. It really was such a shame he wouldn’t be able to help with the Hunt this year. The previous years had seen the two Slytherin boys practically rule the Hunt with their sneaky tactics at collecting all the desired items. Of course, they had fun with said items afterwards too. Like setting the Cornish Pixies loose in the Great Hall during lunch and placing a temporary sticking charm to the Sorting Hat before putting it on Filch’s infernal cat.

Now all Scorpius could do was watch. Nevertheless, he had to respect his duties as Head Boy. The start of the lesson brought their conversation to an end as Professor Vector started speaking. As his fortune would have it, Professor Vector felt like a change up was necessary and shuffled everyone around before Scorpius found himself paired with none other than Rose. They worked in compatible silence as first, as Scorpius tried to focus on the task at hand rather than the fiery redhead beside him.

“I see Albus is very excited for the Hunt this year,” she finally said. Scorpius started a little at the sound of her voice.

“Albus is excited for anything that goes against the rules,” Scorpius replied with a smile.

She chuckled slightly, “Yes, I suppose that’s what you get when you have an Uncle like George Weasley around.”

“Yes, it must be a Weasley thing,” he teased finally looking at her.

Rose smiled despite her best efforts not too, “I don’t suppose you plan on stopping any of it this year?” she inquired.

It was Scorpius’ turn to laugh, “Even if I wanted to, I don’t think it would be even remotely possible.”

“So, we’re just going to ignore it all?” Rose asked with a small smirk. She knew how much Scorpius hated having to sit out of The Hunt this year. It made for a fine opening to tease him just a little. “We’re just going to walk around and pretend we don’t see the lists and maps and coded messages with the where and when on it?”

Scorpius sighed for a moment but saw the mischievous look in her eyes and immediately knew what game she was playing. He sighed, “Well I guess I’ll have to find some way to keep myself busy then.”

“And it doesn’t bother you that you won’t be privy to any of these details?” she questioned feeling more confident in her attempts at baiting him.

“You’re right… I won’t be able to bear it,” he teased back. “I guess because you’ll have to find some way to console me.”

“Me?” Rose questioned in surprise, “Why me?”

“Because we’re the only two students in the entire school that’s not allowed to take part this year,” he answered, “So if anybody would understand my pain, it would be you Rose Weasley.”

“Alright,” she said smirking a little more, “What do you suggest?”

Scorpius sighed rather dramatically as he ran his fingers through his blonde hair as if thinking about it seriously, before leaning in close to Rose. So close that she gasped in surprise as his musky scent overwhelmed her senses and his hot breath tickled her ear when he spoke, “Surprise me.”

He quickly pulled back before they could attract any wandering eyes from their fellow classmates. Scorpius couldn’t conceal the triumphant smirk as he saw a blush to rival her hair set onto Rose’s cheeks. Somehow, they had both managed to retain some semblance of rational thinking and complete the potion without blowing up the dungeons. After bottling it and placing the vial on the desk, they were dismissed. Scorpius slung his bag onto his shoulder and walked out the classroom, passing Rose as he went. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments and seeing her flare up into another blush, he smirked and threw a small wink her way before joining Albus outside.

The rest of the morning passed by in somewhat of a blur and before he knew it, lunch had rolled itself around. Scorpius whistled as he moved between the thick crowds towards the Great Hall for lunch. It had been a good morning so far. The universe was finally working in his favour. He was not far from the entrance to the Great Hall when he caught sight of something that made him stop dead in his tracks.

His brother was casually leaning against one of the pillars chatting to Lily Potter. Yet there was something about the appearance of the two together that made it seem like anybody who looked their way might be intruding on them. When did those two get so cozy?

“What the hell?” he asked to no one in particular. But someone did answer.

“So Demitri finally made his move,” Caius said. Scorpius did a double take at the sudden appearance of his youngest brother.

“What do you mean?” Scorpius asked intrigued as they moved into the Great Hall. Was it possible Demitri had a thing for Lily Potter?

“Demitri’s liked Lily Potter for years.” Caius said as if it were the most obvious thing.

“But he never said anything.” Scorpius said trying to jog his brain to some point in which Demitri might have told him about taking a fancy to Lily Potter.

“Well I imagine that is because he’s only realised it now.” Caius supplied, “Or at least he’s finally realised he can’t hide from it any longer… I wonder what Albus is going to say about this.” he said as an after thought.

Scorpius had to wonder the same thing. He looked up to see Lily and Demitri walking into the Great Hall. Demitri said something causing Lily to laugh before he bowed slightly and turned around, walking to the Slytherin table.

“What was that?” Scorpius asked once Demitri was seated beside him.

“What was what dear brother?” Demitri asked innocently.

“That… with Lilly Potter.” Scorpius said motioning to the Gryffindor table, where she sat.

“Just making friendly conversation,” was all Demitri said. Scorpius gave him a disbelieving look. “She’s just helping me with my transfiguration homework. Relax Scor.”

Scorpius merely shook his head. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his brother; in fact if anyone could get Albus to let up on his promise regarding Lily, it would be Demitri. He was just that persuasive. The only thing that concerned Scorpius was that Demitri could be rather indecisive when it came to the girls in his life. He just wanted Demitri to be absolutely sure he knew what he was getting into.

Scorpius turned to his brother to warn him of the very same thing but caught Demitri gazing across the Great Hall with a look of longing on his face. Following his line of sight he saw Lily, seated beside Rose and Dominique, and when she looked up and caught Demitri staring, she blushed, and then gracefully stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to her friends. Demitri seemed unfazed that he no longer had her attention. Realising then that this was something different for his little brother, Scorpius said nothing at all. Instead Scorpius turned back to the Gryffindor table and sought out an interesting sight of his own. Caius looked at his brothers with amusement. Yes, he thought, this was going to be fun to watch indeed.

**}{}{}{}{}{**

Demitri had spent much of his free period before lunch trying to track down Lily Potter. “She’s in the library, obviously,” Lucy Weasley had told him. “Why do you want to know?” she asked eyeing him suspiciously.

But instead of answering, he simply thanked her and headed to the library. It didn’t take long for him to spot her, sitting in one of the quieter corners hidden by the book shelves. She didn’t seem to hear him approach and for a moment he stopped just to take her in, as she sat their unguarded and blissfully unaware. Her long black hair fell across the book, and was pulled back into a hasty ponytail with a few strands falling into her face. She furrowed her brows as she read something before picking up her quill and jotting down on the parchment before her.

“Lily Potter,” Demitri called softly finally making his presence know, as he took a seat beside her.

“Demitri Malfoy,” she said arching an eyebrow in curiosity, “What do you want?”

“What makes you think I want something?” he questioned.

“Well, you’re either very stupid or very brave for speaking to Albus Potter’s sister for no reason,” she said rolling her eyes in annoyance at the thought.

“Your brother and my brother are best friends. Surely that makes me an exception to the wrath of Albus Potter.” Demitri said.

Lily laughed, “This is Albus Potter we’re talking about. There are no exceptions to the rules.”

“That’s a little hypocritical considering your brother is practically the king in rule breaking,” Demitri frowned.

“Well it’s not really his choice I guess. It was the only thing James asked him to do after he left Hogwarts.” Lily said with a sigh. Her eyes widened when she realised just how loose her tongue had gotten around Demitri.

“So, it’s more James’ rule than Albus?” Demitri asked intrigued.

“It’s not so much a rule as it is a promise.” She said unable to stop herself from speaking.

“To keep you from boys?” Demitri asked scrunching his handsome face in dislike at the thought.

“To keep me safe,” she corrected. “It doesn’t really make sense, I know, but it comes from a good place in their hearts so I guess I can’t really be mad at them.” She said. Sure, the promise frustrated her at times, but she had realised a long time ago that it was her brother’s way of showing their love for her. She couldn’t fault that. She would rather have James and Albus with all their silly rules than have no brothers at all.

“So again I ask you, what do you want Malfoy?” she asked before her tongue could get away from her again.

“Demitri,” he said quietly.

“What?”

“That’s my name.” he said simply.

“I know that,” she said frowning at him. “Are you feeling alright?”

“There are three Malfoy’s at Hogwarts right now,” he explained, “Makes this conversation a little difficult to keep track of if you’re going to call me Malfoy. Besides Demitri sounds nicer don’t you think?” he asked giving her a cheeky grin. There was an unreadable expression in his eyes and Lily fidgeted slightly under his gaze.

She wasn’t sure she could call him Demitri. It seemed too personal, like she was crossing some invisible line. The urge to do as he had asked was great but she found the strength to listen to reason instead.

“What do you want?” she repeated softly.

If he was disappointed, he hid it well. Instead he sighed running his hand through his long blonde hair. It was their trademark. The Malfoy boys all had brilliant blonde hair that reached the collars of their shirt. Unlike their father who had worn his slicked back at his time at Hogwarts, Caius, the most meticulous of the boys always had his neat and proper despite the length. Demitri didn’t seem to pay it much attention and left his hair to its own devices while Scorpius wore his much longer than the other two boys and even allowed some to fall into his eyes. Lily drew her eyes away from his hair and disregarded the urge to run her fingers through it.

“Well I was thinking we could make this years Hunt a little more memorable for our two heads.” He said.

“You know they can’t take part,” Lily sighed.

“Yes, and you know they’re going to be miserable because of it.” Demitri argued back.

“What exactly are you planning Malfoy?” Lily asked, not one to beat around the bush.

“Your cousin and my brother like each other. Now I'm rather tired of seeing them play this little game of denying their feelings, aren’t you?” he asked simply.

Lily was shocked. It had not been the answer she was expecting, yet it did excite her a little. Yes, she was indeed very tired of seeing Rose deny her feeling for Scorpius Malfoy. And it seemed she had not been the only one.

“So, do you have a plan then?” she asked after a moment.

He slowly broke into a brilliant smile. “We’re going to use the Hunt to bring them together.”

“That sounds rather ambitious,” Lily said sceptically.

“Slytherin,” he reminded her. “It will work. Scor loves the Hunt. And we’ll just have to tempt Rose into joining.”

“How exactly is this going to work?”

“I might know the people in charge of putting the shopping list together for this year. I could get them to make a few changes in our favour and that will be our way of getting Rose and Scor together.” Demitri told her.

“This is insane,” Lily said looking slightly excited but also nervous. She bit her lip as she tried to think of all the ways it could go wrong.

“Yes, and that is why it will work,” Demitri told her confidently.

“What are you going to add to the list? It has to be something that will take her directly to Scorpius… and if you say his underwear I will hex you.” she warned.

He held his hands up defensively. “I haven’t thought about that yet but it can’t be that easy… though it is a good idea.” He said smiling appreciatively at her suggestion. She swatted him arm. “Ow!”

“Get your mind out of the gutter Malfoy!” she said.

Demitri mumbled something under his breath as he gazed down at the table. Lily followed his gaze to see it littered with her potions, astronomy and transfiguration homework.

“Of course!” she exclaimed suddenly, “I have the perfect item for them!” she said excitedly as she pulled her notes from the table and shoved them before Demitri’s face.

He frowned at first not understanding but it only took him a few seconds before he broke out into another brilliant smile, “Lily Potter, you’re a genius!” he said.

There was a distinct ringing of a bell signalling the start of lunch. Demitri offered to escort Lily to the Great Hall, not quite ready to leave her company just yet. It seemed she felt the same as her steps got decidedly slower as they neared the Great Hall. Demitri gently pulled her aside, leaning on the pillar so he could speak with her.

“How do I get your brother to change his mind?” he asked suddenly.

“What?” Lily asked confused.

“How do I get Albus to change his mind about this promise he made to James,” he said simply.

“Why would you want to do that?” she asked eyeing him suspiciously.

“I have my reasons,” he shrugged then looked at her indicating she should answer the question.

“I don’t think you can.” She said smiling slightly. “Albus is far too stubborn and any promise he made to James would not have been made so lightly.”

“You underestimate my persuasive capabilities,” he smirked.

“I think you’re overestimating yourself Malfoy,” Lily smiled despite her best efforts.

“I’d like to think of it more as me being… self-assured,” he teased. “It’s very much a Slytherin thing.”

“Oh, that much I can believe,” Lily retorted.

Demitri frowned slightly, “There’s a little Slytherin in you,” he said tilting his head to the side as if seeing her from a different angle would help.

“I highly doubt that,” she said. “Do you really think this insane plan of yours is going to work?” she asked sceptically. “What if they find out and it only pushes them further apart?”

He chuckled, “Have a little faith princess.” He said and led her into the Great Hall. Before they could go their separate ways, he turned to her, “I’ll see you later,” he smiled, bowing before her, causing a slight blush to appear.

Demitri quite liked the sight of her blushing. He liked it even more knowing it was because of him. Without another word, he turned and walked towards the Slytherin table, joining his brothers for lunch. Scorpius was saying something, asking questions but Demitri barely paid him any heed as he gazed across the Great Hall. She looked up and saw his grey eyes staring intently at her; she stuck her tongue out, laughed and then turned back to her friends. Demitri realised then something he should have known ages ago… Merlin help him, he liked Lily Potter!

**}{}{}{}{}{**


	2. Secret and Lists

* * *

_2\. Secret and Lists_

* * *

 

_Monday Night – Gryffindor Common Room_

Lucy Weasley lay on the floor in the Gryffindor common room, as Lily checked her essay for her. Her feet swung back and forth as she leisurely doodled on the parchment before her.

“So, what was the deal with you and Demitri Malfoy at lunch today?” she asked trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Lily narrowed her eyes at her cousin in suspicion. “Nothing,” she said.

“Didn’t look like nothing,” Lucy mumbled not looking at Lily.

“He was just asking for some help with his homework.” Lily lied.

“So, he asked you?” Lucy questioned not believing her lie. “Why didn’t he just ask Zabini? They’re best friends, right?”

“Probably because Transfiguration isn’t her best subject,” Lily said. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Well that’s probably true… but that’s not what I was referring to.” Lucy said smirking slightly.

“Then what are you referring to?” Lily asked cautiously. The last thing she needed was for her cousins to find out what she and Malfoy had planned for Rose and Scorpius.

“Oh well its nothing really, just the fact that he couldn’t take his eyes off of you earlier.” Lucy said still not looking at her cousin.

“What? Don’t be ridiculous Lucy!” Lily scolded.

“It’s ridiculously true,” Lucy continued, “So, what happened?” She asked in a sing-song voice.

“Nothing!” Lily said quickly, “Nothing at all happened! Where did you get such a crazy idea?”

“Lily, no boy, especially one like Malfoy, looks at a girl like that for no reason,” Lucy informed her looking her straight in the eye.

“Lucy I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Lily objected, “I don’t even know what ‘look’ you’re referring to.

“That’s alright,” Lucy said, “You haven’t seen him looking at you. I have.” She pushed herself off the floor and sat down beside Lily on the couch, “But when you do see it, you’ll know exactly what I'm talking about.” Lily shifted slightly at the annoying grin on Lucy’s face. “And when you realise… well I can’t promise I won’t say I told you so.”

“Lucy you’re being completely ri –”

“Lily you’ve got, uhm a visitor,” Annie Williams said interrupting them.

“Who is it?” Lily asked, wishing she hadn’t when she noted the very uncomfortable look on Annie’s face.

“Demitri Malfoy,” she said and then quickly disappeared up the stairs.

Lily could practically feel the smugness radiating off Lucy beside her. “Go on,” she egged Lily on, “Go help the Slytherin Prince with, his homework you said?”

Lily scowled and threw a cushion at her before walking out the common room, Lucy’s laughter ringing loudly in the background.

Once outside, she was greeted with an empty corridor. Demitri Malfoy was nowhere to be seen. She had taken a few steps further into the corridor when hands shot out from behind her and pulled her into a dark corridor. She made to scream but a hand clamped itself over her mouth. Lily tried to struggle but the figure was much bigger and much stronger than she was. With shocking ease, she was dragged further into the dark corridor and gently pushed up against the wall. It was only when she saw his platinum hair and grey eyes that she quit struggling.

“Malfoy what on earth do you think you’re doing!” Lily cried trying to push herself off the wall. Demitri simply placed his hands on either side of her thus effectively trapping her.

“Shhh,” he said, “We don’t want the whole of the Gryffindor common room knowing I'm here.”

“Well it’s a little late for that,” Lily retorted. “You had Annie Williams play owl, not to mention Lucy overheard. You’ll be lucky if the whole school doesn’t know by morning,” she said rolling her eyes.

“Oh… shit.” He said softly but made no attempt to move himself away from her.

“Was there something you wanted?” she asked after a moment. He looked to be deep in thought and Lily was almost sorry she had to interrupt it before she reminded herself of his manhandling.

“Hmm? Oh, yes it’s done. Our additions have been added to the list.” He said victoriously. “It will be sent out at midnight tonight, which gives everyone until the end of the week to complete it.”

“So, that gives us a week to bring Rose and Scorpius together?” Lily asked with some excitement despite her best efforts.

“Yup,” he said though it seemed he wasn’t paying full attention to what she was saying.

“Okay well Rose isn’t a big fan of the Hunt so convincing her won’t be an easy feat.” Lily said more to herself than to him.

“Tickle some of that famous Weasley pride of hers… or her anger; either should work,” Demitri joked.

Lily nodded her head, “That’s a brilliant idea actually.”

“It is?” he questioned looking at her puzzled.

“Yeah. Don’t you see? Rose is in denial about her feelings for your brother. All I have to do is convince her that taking part and helping us find our special item on the list will be her way of proving me wrong. If there is one thing that Rose loves, it’s being right.” She said triumphantly.

“Very smart Potter,” Demitri praised. “You could be a Slytherin after all.” He said looking down at her as he brought his face closer.

“Me? A Slytherin? No, I don’t think that your house colours would suit me very much.” She said looking back at him unwavering. “Besides, one Potter in Slytherin is more than enough.”

“Oh I disagree,” Demitri said becoming bolder in his movements towards her, “I think Slytherin green robes would suit you very much,” he said smiling. Demitri looked her over and nodded to himself, “Yes you would look rather ravishing in my robes.” He whispered, his lips lingering over hers, though his eyes never left hers.

Lily chuckled softly, “Now who said anything about it being your robes?” she teased flicking his green tie with her fingers. He caught her wrist easily and held it gently yet firmly though Lily had no mind of pulling away now. He took a step closer; filling what little space lay between them.

His grey eyes turned molten with lust and something else… something unknown to Lily. Her breath grew heavy as Demitri seemed to drink in her very presence. His eyes flickered from her lips to her eyes, as he contemplated closing the mere inches between them. His hands moved, one to her hip, the other brushing dark curls away from her face. In the dimly lit corridor his platinum hair stood out more than ever though, his swirling grey eyes stole her breath. She felt her hands moving of their own accord up his chest, over the stiff material of his shirt, gripping the collar as he pushed her further against the wall.

Her green eyes never left his face as he seemed to be fighting an inner battle. He brought his face down and their noses brushed against each other as his lips trailed her cheek, but avoided her lips. Lily felt her heart hammering away loudly and she wondered if he could hear it too. She almost growled in annoyance at the games he was playing, eager for him to close the gap. Yet not a moment later he pulled away albeit very reluctantly and drew in a heavy breath, almost as if trying to find some sanity again.

“Midnight… the Black Lake,” he barely managed to whisper. His eyes lingered on her for a moment before he found the nerve to turn around and disappear, his footsteps echoing as he made his escape in great haste.

Lily clutched at her chest trying to resume normal breathing before she found the sense to move out of the dark corridor. Once out and standing near the Fat Lady’s portrait, she tried to push the incidents of what just happened to the back of her mind. It was a weakness she couldn’t afford right now. Her cousins preyed on that sort of thing and she was going to have a big enough problem trying to convince Rose to join The Hunt. She didn’t need Demitri Malfoy with his devilish charm, alluring looks or his fast witted tongue distracting her now.

**}{}{}{}{}{**

“Louis!” Albus Potter called as he walked into the Slytherin common room, “I have been looking everywhere for you!”

The boy in question looked up from where he was lounging in one of the armchairs in front of the fire. He grinned as his cousin took a seat next to him. “Heard anything?” he asked in a whisper.

Albus looked around the common room, making sure no one would hear them. “The shopping list is going out tonight.” He said excitedly. “Apparently, there’s been a change… a ‘special’ item has been added to the list.” Albus said thinking over this information. Louis frowned, “What sort of special item?”

“I don’t bloody well know.” Albus frowned.

“Mate what’s the point of being the saviour’s son if you can’t charm a few birds into telling you?” Louis asked rolling his eyes.

“I tried! But she said it ‘would be unfair,’ and that if we’re really as good as we say we won’t need help.” Albus muttered.

“Stupid witch,” Louis commented. “No matter, we really don’t need her help. So tonight then?” he asked bringing them back to point.

“Yeah, Quidditch Pitch at midnight.” Albus supplied.

“Fantastic!” Louis said rubbing his hands together in excitement.

Albus grinned and nodded in agreement. The boys lapsed into an easy silence; one that Louis noted had Albus rather unsettled.

“Thinking about Scor missing The Hunt this year?” he asked knowingly. It was common knowledge that Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy were considered rather legends when it came to The Hunt. Albus nodded. “You think he’ll stick to what McGonagall said about him not participating?”

Albus shrugged. “I don’t know. But it won’t be the same without him.”

“Maybe we can get him involved without actually making him realise it?” Louis offered.

“We’re going to need one hell of a plan because in case you forgot, Scorpius is no fool. The only person smarter than him right now is Rose.” Albus replied.

Louis groaned in defeat. There was no way they could out think Scorpius and Rose. He looked up and saw Demitri Malfoy retuning to the common room looking rather flushed and out of breath. He seemed to be lost deep in his thoughts as he hurried through the common room. It was not a regular sight, seeing a Malfoy looking so flustered and out of sorts. Louis couldn’t resist so he called out to him.

“If you look any redder, we could mistake you for a Weasley,” he teased, though only because he was one of the few that didn’t have the startling red hair.

Demitri stopped at the sound of his friend’s voice, seeing Louis and Albus looking rather amused him. He hesitated for a moment before joining them near the welcoming fire.

“You alright mate?” Albus asked raising an eyebrow.

“Hmm? Ooh yeah…” Demitri replied as nonchalantly as he could.

Louis studied him carefully for a moment before he broke out into a wide smirk, “What’s her name?”

“What?” Albus and Demitri asked at the same time.

“What’s her name Demitri?” he asked again. “This girl that has you so… confused and flustered. This is a new look for you.” he said with a devious smirk.

“I- I have no idea what you mean.” Demitri replied, though Louis and Albus just seemed more intrigued. “You should know better Louis. Malfoy’s don’t get flustered over girls,” he replied as haughtily as possible.

Louis laughed then looked at Albus. “You know I’ve only ever seen one other Malfoy look this flustered before.”

Albus caught his meaning and chuckled, “Yeah, but Rose does love playing mind games on the poor boy.” He said sympathetically.

“You know?” Demitri asked surprised.

“My cousin is not the most subtle of people.” Albus said. “Besides he asked me for my permission way back in third year.”

“But… they never dated.” Demitri said slowly.

“No, they never did,” Albus said sadly. Demitri looked imploringly at him for more information. He sighed running a hand through his dark hair, a habit he picked up from Scorpius. “I guess he was about to ask her out but then her dad kinda resurfaced for a while and Scor didn’t want to, as he put it, ‘add any more complications’ for her. So, he backed off and stayed a friend to her and that’s where she’s kept him.”

Demitri sat silent as he absorbed all that Albus had told him. He really had no idea that his brother had liked Rose Weasley for so long. A burning question formed in his mind but he knew that he couldn’t ask the boy in front of him, so he remained quiet. His thoughts carried him to the plan he had laid out with Lily Potter and suddenly she was all he could think about. Those moments not too long ago in the dark corridor seemed like a lifetime ago. He all but wished he had closed the gap and kissed her. He so desperately wanted to know what it felt like to kiss Lily Potter. He had asked Lily earlier in all seriousness about getting Albus to change his mind. He just had no clue how to do it. He had no reason other than he really wanted a chance with Lily Potter. Demitri didn’t think he could wait three years before getting another chance like Scorpius. But he’d have to be careful, if anything went wrong it could jeopardise their plan and Demitri was not about to fail. His brother deserved to get the girl and he was going to make sure it happened. He would have to keep his attraction to Lily to himself until he knew how to change Albus’ mind.

Before Louis or Albus could question him again, he said a hasty goodbye and disappeared into his room.

“So, who do you think it is?” Louis asked as they watched him retreat to the dorms.

Albus shrugged, “She must be something special to leave Demitri Malfoy a stuttering mess.” he grinned then looked at Louis in all seriousness. “Any plans of how we’re going to get to the Quidditch pitch without having to lock Filch in the broom closet…again?”

“I have a few,” he said with a smirk of his own as both boys set out to plan their escape for the night.

**}{}{}{}{}{**

It had been a very interesting day for Rose Weasley to say the least. Her encounter with Scorpius Malfoy earlier that morning had left her very scatter-brained for much of the day. With the fireplace, alive and roaring, a gentle warmth spread itself across the head’s common room.

She was seated on the couch, her books spread out around her as she tried to concentrate on her potions essay. But all she felt, all she saw was Scorpius Malfoy.

It was going to be the death of her no doubt. Avoiding him had been no easy task, especially without arising the suspicions of Albus but somehow, she had managed it. She had so badly wanted to kiss Scorpius, but something inside her pulled her back. Anyone who knew Rose could have guessed that it was probably because her father had left them and a fear of committing to anyone had followed her since. She didn’t want to give her heart to Scorpius and have him break it. Not that he would, but Rose wasn’t brave enough to chance it.

Closing that little gap between them seemed far more challenging that she wanted to admit and now she was left feeling something she never thought possible. Regret.

She truly regretted pushing him away; she regretted avoiding him and completely shutting him out after he had made such wondrous attempts at breaking down her walls. But her fear held her back, and closed her heart again. Though it seemed that Scorpius was not done trying, and a small part of her was grateful for it. The other half just wished he would leave her alone. He brought with him a whole sea of emotions, and while it was amazing, when she shut him out, getting rid of those emotions weren’t so easy.

“Such a serious face, and its only Monday,” Scorpius said softly as he sat beside her.

Rose smiled, “It’s been that kind of a day.” She hoped he would accept her answer and leave it at that but this was Scorpius and he was stubborn by nature.

“That’s not it though,” he said looking at her carefully. Scorpius had taken the time to really understand Rose and as a consequence he knew she was trying to hide something much bigger. It unnerved her that Scorpius knew he so well, not even her cousins could hold a flame to that. Looking at her distressed face, her hands fiddling with the pendant around her neck, he knew immediately what the problem was. “He sent you another letter?”

Rose wasn’t surprised that Scorpius had guessed correctly. He was one of the few that knew about her father’s attempts to contact her. “Yeah,” she said motioning to the unopened letter.

“You didn’t read this one either,” he sighed.

“I know what he’s going to say. The letters never change. He never changes,” she whispered looking into the flames.

Scorpius felt his heart clench as she spoke. Her father was a delicate topic for Rose. So, he did the only thing he could remember would comfort her. Scorpius leaned back into the couch and wrapped his arm around her shoulders; she tensed only for a second and then sank into his embrace. She laid her head on his chest and thanked Merlin he couldn’t see her misty eyes now. They sat in a comfortable silence as he rubbed his hand soothingly down her arms and Rose was comforted by his musky scent.

“Come on,” he said after some time, hoping to distract her, “I heard from a rather scrupulous source that the shopping list is being released tonight.” He said. Rose looked up at him, and saw that he was holding back on his excitement. She chuckled but nodded and pulled herself off the couch. “Here,” he said handing Rose his sweater as they walked out of the heads common room.

“I didn’t think you’d be hoping to find the list,” she said confused as she pulled the sweater on. She didn’t mind the brash cold of the mid-January air as she pulled his sweater close to her.

“It’s unlikely we’ll find it ourselves. But McGonagall suspects its being released tonight, so I figured we might as well make it seem like we’re attempting to stop The Hunt this year.” he explained.

“Even though we’re not,” Rose smiled.

“Exactly.” He replied with a smile of his own.

“Alright, so where to?” Rose asked, the unsettling letter drifting further from her mind with each moment she spent with Scorpius.

“Astronomy Tower?” he asked. “Doubt we’ll see anybody up there.” Scorpius said with an excited grin.

She laughed, “Alright lead the way Scor,” Rose said, unaware of how she was addressing him.

His heart soared and for a moment and he froze. Something so simple brought him back to those moments before she shut him out. When she had grown comfortable around him and called him that only in the head’s dormitory as he pinned her down to the floor and tickled her mercilessly; or when they sat up late at night, finishing homework and sharing stories of their lives outside of Hogwarts. Rose Weasley was making her way back to him whether she knew it or not. He simply smiled and followed her down the corridor towards the astronomy tower.

**}{}{}{}{}{**

Lily walked swiftly out the front door, and made her way to the Black Lake. She kept to the shadows as the cold air assaulted her face. It was close to midnight and the castle was dead… well almost anyway. She was grateful for the long walk to the Black Lake, as it had given her plenty of time to think. Albeit it was mainly Demitri Malfoy that occupied her thoughts, but what was she to do.

She reached the edge of the Lake and waited patiently. The water was deathly still and she could see the moon’s reflection clear on its surface. The simplicity of the night’s beauty was not lost on her, but soon her loneliness ended. Lily sensed him first before she heard his footsteps towards her.

“Lily,” he greeted softly smiling at her, stopping just under the tree before the edge of the lake.

“Demitri,” she said before she could stop herself. He smiled at the sound of his name escaping her lips. It didn’t sound as strange as Lily thought it would.

“Where is everyone else?” Lily asked.

“Different corners of this castle all waiting for the list.” He explained. “They thought it would be safer to distribute the list this way than have everyone all in one room… you never know who’s trying to play snitch this year.” Demitri said as he leaned against the tree.

“How are they going to give everyone the list at the same time?”

“Magic, of course,” he said winking at her. They lapsed into an easy silence before Demitri spoke again as if he had contemplated this very much before speaking, “I was serious earlier… when I asked how I could get your brother to change his mind on his promise.”

“And I told you that Albus is just as serious about keeping it.” Lily told him. “Besides you never told me why you wanted this from Albus?”

“I have –”

“Your reasons. Yes, so you’ve said,” Lily interrupted, sighing. “That’s not good enough Malfoy.”

Demitri shifted slightly. He could have given her a half-truth, but in that moment as he looked into her green eyes, Demitri was compelled to be honest. He pushed himself off the tree and walked towards her until they were mere inches apart.

He reached out and gently caressed her cheek with his thumb, and she made the mistake of looking into his eyes. They were back to their original grey rather than the lustful molten they had been earlier. He held her gaze, leaning in closer as he reached out to push black curls away from her face.

The moonlight seemed to make his platinum blonde hair all that more outstanding, while Lily was bathed in the ethereal glow of the night. She looked ravishing and as much as Demitri tried to listen to the little voice in his head, telling him to pull away; he just couldn’t.

He was drawn to her, and she to him. The gentleness of his touch shocked her as his fingers traced around her face delicately. One hand wound around her waist on its own accord and pulled Lily closer. The look in his grey eyes was something so intense she felt the breath knocked out of her. He lowered his head to her and she felt his lips gently touch her cheek. Lily closed her eyes as his soft lips burned her skin in the most pleasant of ways. She gripped at the front of his robes and pulled him closer. Her actions seemed to halt his. She inwardly groaned as she realised his lips were hovering just above hers as hesitancy filled him again.

“Demitri,” she barely managed to mumble; “If you pull away again, I'm going to hex you,” she threatened.

He let out a breathy laugh before his lips hesitated no more and descended upon hers. She was alive for the first time. This was what it felt like to truly fly. No, she wasn’t flying, she was soaring. Her heart thumping a thousand beats a minute as she felt his one hand tug her close and the other held her face firmly before it descended down her neck, sweeping the hair back and coming to rest on the small of her back. His lips moved expertly with hers, and he moaned a little when she pressed herself further into him and gave more of herself to their kiss. Her hands were pulling at the ends of his long hair and thankfully he was holding her rather tightly because as he pulled away, Lily felt her legs almost give out beneath her. She locked her arms fiercely around his neck and kept her eyes closed not daring to look at him and see that maybe he realised he had made a mistake. Because there was no way he had felt all the things she had just felt? It wasn’t even possible for one little kiss to do so much damage, right?

In a shocking act of gentleness, Demitri simply rested his forehead against hers as they both tried to catch their breaths. When she felt his thumbs across her cheeks again, she opened her eyes to see dark grey looking back at her. Dread and doubt filled her. Lily had kissed her fair share of boys but none had caused such a reaction. She looked to Demitri to see if he would pull away. Instead, he smiled gently and placed a soft kiss to her hair, his lips lingering there for a moment.

Her breath caught in her throat at that simple act, as it brought on more emotions than the kiss. In that moment, Lily realised she didn’t need to hear him say anything, because she knew from the small smile he was wearing to the way his hands ran through her hair and more specifically to the way he was holding her; that he didn’t regret kissing her.

A flapping distracted both teens though; neither pulled away as they looked up and saw something flying above their heads. It appeared to be an owl. It dropped something at their feet before ascending much higher into the night sky. Lily watched as the bird soared up into the night sky, getting lost in the darkness almost immediately before it burst into a beautiful show of fireworks. As it had done so, she heard several other loud bangs before the sky was decorated with fireworks from all directions.

She gazed at the fireworks in wonder before a startling thought struck her, “We’re going to get caught. There’s no way McGonagall didn’t hear that! Why would the Game-makers do something so incredibly stupid? Besides, I thought it was meant to be a secret. This is no way to keep a secret…”

Surprisingly Demitri laughed, “There are only two rules to The Hunt. Don’t tell anyone and don’t get caught… they never promised they would make it easy for us. I suppose the fireworks were put in to scare any snitches we might have this year.”

“Clever, I suppose.”

“It is indeed,” he replied looking at her closely. He sighed before letting go, Lily was immediately aware of just how cold the night was. He picked up the envelope and handed it to her.

With eager eyes and excited fingers, she broke the seal, and pulled out the shopping list. She heard a “lumos” from behind her and was acutely aware that he was standing very close to her again, watching as she unfolded the parchment.

_Dear Mischief Makers,_

_We welcome you to this year’s Hunt. You will have one week in which to collect as many items as you can on the list. The pair/group that collects the most valuable items on the list will be awarded bragging rights for a year plus an additional surprise prize (donated by our wonderful, anonymous benefactors.) All items collected must be brought to the location we will provide you with._

_We don’t need to remind you that mentioning the Hunt to anyone outside of the game jeopardises the Hunt for everyone. So, don’t talk about the Hunt to anyone unaware and most importantly DON’T GET CAUGHT!_

_To verify your participation, you will all be required to sign the bottom of this parchment and drop it off into the rusty cauldron in Professor Slughorn’s classroom._

_Good luck and May the best Huntsman win!_

_Sincerely,_

_The Game – Makers_

Lily giggled and pulled out another sheet of parchment, and read:

_You will be required to collect as many of the following items as possible (Remember, it’s in order of most valuable to least valuable):_

_1\. A unicorn_

_2\. The Head Boy_

_3\. Fluffy (Good luck trying to find him)_

_4\. The Quidditch trophy_

_5\. Mrs. Norris_

_6\. Peeves the poltergeist_

_7\. Merlin’s Book_

_8\. The Giant Squid_

_9\. Sir Waldorf the Third’s Painting (Headmistress McGonagall’s Office)_

_10\. 2 mermaids_

_11\. 8 Blast – Ended Skrewt’s_

_12\. All the silver spoons Hogwarts has_

_13\. The one – eyed witch’s statue_

Lily held the list with shocked hands. “They actually put him on the list,” she whispered. “Oh no…”

“Wasn’t that the whole point?” Demitri asked confused.

“The point was to get them together… Not set half the bloody female population on your brother! It was supposed to be something only Rose would figure out!”

Demitri paled considerably as Lily’s words registered. “Oh fuck,” he muttered.

“Exactly.” Lily said looking utterly dejected. “What happened to the astronomy charts I gave you?”

“They said they would consider it as a suggestion…I'm guessing they liked their idea better,” Demitri said scowling at the thought.

“So now what?” Lily asked worriedly.

“This changes nothing,” Demitri replied determinedly.

Lily looked outraged. “Of course this changes everything! Are you completely crazy! We’re never going to get them together now! Not with half-”

“Shhh!” he said clamping his hand over her mouth, “This changes nothing Lily. In fact… it’s rather perfect.”

She looked at him and then rolled her eyes before he took his hand away, “How is this perfect?”

“You’re going to convince Rose Weasley to commandeer my brother,” he said with a triumphant smirk. “Look it’s more direct now. There’s no way she could argue that it’s meant to be something else.”

“She’s never going to fall for that,” Lily said thinking it over. “Yes, she will. You have to make her believe that by doing this she will be proving you wrong and that she is truly over my brother.” He explained, “You said it yourself, Rose loves being right… so just make her believe that by doing this she will be right and all of us wrong.”

“But he’s the second most valuable thing on the bloody list! Somebody is bound to try and get him first.” Lily argued.

“Yes… leave that to me… I’ll think of something.” Demitri said, trying to sound reassuring. Lily merely raised her eyebrows. “Come on Lily! You know your cousin better than most… if anybody can do this it’s you.”

She looked at him in surprise, “You really think this is going to work? That I would actually be able to convince Rose to participate in a game that is against the rules. Not to mention… commandeer Scorpius Malfoy?”

He smiled, “Yes I know you can.” He said confidently. “Have a little faith Princess.” He said repeating his words from earlier. Lily blushed as she tore her gaze away from him.

“This really is a terrible idea.” She said but she was smiling despite her best efforts.

Demitri reached out and tucked a curl behind her ears. “Yes. But it will work.”

As he spoke he was took the time to look at her properly in the moonlight. Her lips were slightly swollen, a result from being thoroughly snogged. Her hair rivalling her brother’s unkempt look as it bore the consequence of Demitri’s wandering hands. She looked flushed and he thought she had never looked more beautiful. He wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet, so he closed the gap between them and this time with no hesitation claimed her lips all at once.

Lily squeaked in surprise but allowed herself to be pulled into another soul-ending kiss. Oh, this boy was going to be the death of her. She barely had time to think when his lips left hers and trailed a hot trail down her neck. She gasped in surprise and clutched at his hair a little tighter as his lips teased the skin at the base of her neck. There really was no going back after that. She was pretty sure Demitri had left a mark, and it didn’t bother her one bit. In fact, it fuelled her excitement and then she was speaking before she could even register thinking the words.

“Talk to him,” she whispered. Demitri stopped his ministrations, much to her disappointment.

“What?” he asked huskily.

It took everything she had not to pull him back down for another proper snog instead of answering him. “Albus… if you want him to change his mind you have to talk to him” she replied.

Demitri held her close, “That’s it? I just talk to him?” he asked disbelievingly.

Lily chuckled, “I'm not saying that’s all you need to do, but it’s where you can start.” She offered.

He nodded and they fell into an easy silence. “We should head back to the castle now,” he said reluctantly. Lily frowned slightly but followed his lead as they headed back up the path.

“He’s going to ask you for your reason’s you know,” she said with a small smile, as she thought about her brother questioning Demitri on his intentions with her.

“I know.” he replied.

“What will you say?” she asked truly intrigued.

He looked at her with his most sincere smile and Lily found it was her favourite look on him. “You” he replied easily.

Lily smiled but didn’t say anything. Maybe, just maybe Demitri Malfoy had what was needed for Albus Potter to change his mind. And for the first time in a long time, Lily found she had something she didn’t think was possible; she had faith. Faith that Demitri’s crazy terrible plan might work and that Albus would give them a chance. She had faith in Demitri Malfoy.

**}{}{}{}{}{**

She stood quietly at the edge of the Astronomy tower looking out at the night sky. She had felt an odd sort of calm tonight; despite the day she had had. Being with Scorpius, joking and just talking was something she really missed. They had decided to wait out the distribution of the list on the Astronomy tower, far above all the excitement. She looked over her shoulder and saw Scorpius sitting much further in, away from the cold night air, making silver twirls with his wand.

“How do you do that?” she asked sitting beside him.

“I don’t know…” he said scrunching his face in thought, “Just something I’ve always seen my mum do.”

Rose nodded and they sat in silence for a while, “Do you think I'm making a mistake?”

Scorpius didn’t enquire as to what she was talking about. He already knew.

“I can’t say,” he answered honestly.

“I just don’t see what good will come from me talking to him again. He’s already got a family of his own, why can’t he just leave mine alone?” she muttered softly.

Scorpius stopped his movements and just looked at her. Sighing he put his hands into his pocket and pulled out the envelope before setting it on the floor between them.

“Read it; burn it, send it back or feed it to the Giant Squid. Do whatever the hell you want with it but don’t let it consume you Rose.” He spoke gently but firmly, “If you do, he will have control over you without even meaning to.”

Her hands trembled over the envelope that bore her name. She heavily contemplated it for a moment. A part of her was truly curious to see why her father was contacting her… the other part couldn’t care less… except that was a lie. She did care. She cared about what the letter brought. She cared what possible replies she might get if she responded. Mostly she cared about the consequences: on her heart, and those around her. It was with her mother and Hugo in mind that Rose raised her wand and set the letter ablaze.

Looking at Scorpius he was watching her with deep interest and all she could offer him was a small, “thank you.”

He didn’t seem to mind and just smiled. He only drew his eyes away from her when they heard a resounding ‘BOOM,’ followed by the night sky lighting up in various colours. Rose subconsciously shuffled closer to him but he didn’t say anything. They sat watching the fireworks going off at various points across the grounds and when Rose leaned, placing her head on his shoulder he breathed an easy sigh. Yes, Rose was indeed making her way back to him; and he couldn’t wait for the day he could close the gap and call her his.

**}{}{}{}{}{**


End file.
